Icarus
by A Piece for Some Peace
Summary: Pips, filled with hubris and curiosity, leaves Ferngully. Promising to return with riches and human creations to win Crysta and the admiration of all in Ferngully, he brings back something no one had expected.
1. Chapter 1

**Note from the author: Just a twisted bit of nostalgia here from me to you.**

Life was kind and gentle for those who lived in Ferngully. All things living, be they predator or prey, plant or tree, were brothers. There was an understanding of the ebb and flow of life here, and death was an accepted truth. The keepers of these truths were funny little creatures, maybe even laughable, but mysterious, beautiful, and magical all the same.

"Crysta!" Called a male pixie. The one he called to was Crysta, a female pixie. At the moment, she was engulfed in a deep sleep. Under normal circumstances, the male pixie would have left her alone, but today was different for many reasons. Some reasons were secret, others a little more blatant, but he felt it urgent nonetheless. Showing no signs of stirring, he called to Crysta once more.

"Hey, you, yeah you! Wake up you lazy slug-pixie." He half-joked. Her eyes teased open, flapping her lashes to chase away the sleep.

"Pips?" She asked, finally becoming coherent. Her friend, Pips gave her a smile. Offering her a hand, Pips helped Crysta escape her bed of leaves.

"Why are you here?" Crysta asked Pips. Here was Crysta's home; formally Magi's who had died awhile back. It was odd for Pips not to be out with the Beetle Boys testing his strength or lounging outside atop mushroom caps. Very rarely did he come to visit her in her home.

"Oh, so you don't want me here?" He teased.

"No, no!" Insisted Crysta, waving her hands up in defense. "It's just unexpected of you."

Pips laughed, relenting. Allowing herself to ease up as well, Crysta returned with a grin.

"You're sleeping the day away." Explained Pips, his voice slightly softer than normal circumstance. Looking out from the knot that served as a door in the tree Crysta lived, Pips was far off in thought. Looking outside as well, Crysta could tell from the orange sunlight filtering through the canopy that it was barely morning at all. Indignity passed through her, and suddenly she felt very ill for Pips.

"It's not-." Crysta started to argue; Pips turned his head back to face her. Abruptly, Pips flew off, ending her tirade before it began.

"Hey!" She called, flying after him. Swishing to dodge tree limbs and vines spiraling down, they danced in the air sensing a glowing aura in their wake. Soon she had caught up with Pips. From where Crysta was flying she could tell he was smiling wildly. It was a game of cat and mouse, one she would never allow him to win.

"Ha!" Cried Pips. She laughed in return. With an extra push of energy, Crysta caught Pips by the waist and pulled him to the earth. Skidding amongst the dirt and detritus, they came to a stop with a thud. Crysta had her arms wrapped firming around Pips. She laid on top of him, feeling triumphant and playful.

"Why did you wake me so early anyway?" She asked. Indeed, the light was only just now fully illuminating their surroundings. Unprepared, or maybe just unwilling, to answer such a question, Pips shrugged.

"Let's go find some morning dew." He proposed, freeing himself from Crysta's grasp. Crysta did not pry further. Evasive tactics and deceit were the last things she would ever expect from Pips. She figured he probably had no reason, but simply wanted to be with her, it had been awhile since they'd last been together alone.

"Alright." She said.

"I bet we'll find some by the stream." Proposed Pips. Nodding, Crysta joined him in the flight to the flowing water nearby. Arriving there, Pips showed no interest in drinking up the dew, which was plentiful.

"Wow, one of my favorite things about the day!" Said Crysta in wonderment. Beams of light funneled through the water into beams dancing across her face. In later times of darkness and sorrow, Pips would always find himself returning to this moment. Perhaps he thought of her body being slightly more voluptuous, or her lips being a bit redder, but her smile he would always get right.

"Me too." He said to her in return. He watched Crysta collect a bead of water in her palms, sipping from it sweetly. He wanted to say so much then. They were stupid thoughts really, that her wild hair was just as crazy as he was for her, that her eyes were the things that kept pulling him in, or that her curves were perfect to him. These feelings were as foreign to him as humans. It pained him to think he was to leave her so soon.

"Aren't you thirsty?" Crysta asked, eyeing him suspiciously, expecting a prank.

"Oh! Yeah." Said Pips, going to a dewdrop. Finally Crysta dropped her guard after watching him drink from the water. Turning to the stream, she plunged in to the cool water to play, leaving Pips to his thoughts. Suddenly, it occurred to Pips how dumb be was in taking her out like this. Nothing he could say would satisfy all he felt just now. He just wished to see her, and now fulfilled, he want to go, her beauty his last memory of Ferngully.

"Pips! There's something I need to show you!" Called Crysta, who rose from the water. Noticing Pips was not where he was last, Crysta looked from side to side, fearing a childish joke. No prank came to her, but no Pips either. Panic set in.

"Pips!" Crysta shrieked. Her call was fruitless and for not as Pips was now flying off in the clouds, deaf to her pleas. Crysta crossed her arms. Angrily, she thought Pips had left her, maybe as a joke, maybe because he had other things to do, but Crysta was angry either way.

"Sorry Crysta." Muttered Pips. With all his heart he wished he could have taken her along, but he knew he would return one day and that she could not understand. Refusing to look back, Pips was far off in the sky.

"I'll be back soon." He said, and that was a promise.


	2. Chapter 2

"What is this?" cried Pips, crashing to the earth. As Pips had ventured further towards Zak and the land of the humans, clouds of evil overwhelmed him. Living in Ferngully, he had never felt such an oppressive force. Fluttering his wings, Pips found he was unable to carry himself off the ground. When he had been in the sky strange clouds had overwhelmed him, forcing Pips to steadily drop lower. Humans would use "pollution" to describe the force, unbeknownst to Pips. The lights of the humans, twinkling and brighter than the stars, were much harder to see now. Night had fallen, and Pips was starting to regret his choices. Screams, tiny and faint, met Pips ears.

"Who is there?" He called, hiding his fear. To his surprise, it was not a "who" that was calling out to him, but a "what". The ground, hard, very hard like stone, was reverberating. Nature was imprisoned here, and straining to get out. Somehow Pips knew this was the human's doing. Again, Pips questioned his motives, wondering if he had made the right choice. Before too much doubt had set in, Pips reminded himself of the reasons why he could not turn back yet. Crysta, and all of Ferngully, needed this. Forcing himself to carry on, Pips kept moving forward, this time by foot. A red light caught his eye. The light was soft and fuzzy, which was very similar to the light of his kind.

"Hey!" He called after the pixie. Running after the light, he found the strength to take flight with enough speed to catch up. With a thud, Pips hit a strange surface surrounding the not-pixie. It was a man made creation travelling at incredible speed. Pips smiled, realizing this machine of man would surely take him to humans, and more likely than not, Zak. Ferngully was saved. All Pips had to do now was rest by the not-pixie, a taillight as man might refer to it, and find the humans who would help Ferngully into a new age. Pips had no idea of the worry he had caused at home.

"Pips!" called Crysta. No response. After she had flown through most of Ferngully, she feared the worst. No one in Ferngully had seen him, and worse still, his things had been left undisturbed. No pixie in recent memory had left the comforts of Ferngully. Returning to her home once more, Crysta slumped miserably across the foot of her bed. She felt incredibly foolish for not seeing through his strange actions earlier that day. Pangs rang through her heart. The loss she felt now was greater than she had ever dared felt.


	3. Chapter 3

Riding on the lifeless beast created by man, a car, Pips was drawn further into mankind's domain. This was their kingdom, a city. Filled with lit up skyscrapers taller than any tree ever to grow in Ferngully, Pips was thoroughly amazed. The lights of the city came in every color and gleamed brighter than those of the pixies Pips had admired. When the car he had received a ride from for many miles came to a stop, Pips slid from the car, deciding he would find Zak the human on his own now. With each new sight, streetcars, buses, mailboxes, and more, Pips wondered what uses they could bring to his home of Ferngully. Careful to dodge the colossal feet of humans, he was invisible to their eyes which never seemed to glance down to where he was walking. Behind invisible cages of glass were portals, images of humans, nature, and animals. These were televisions, and they were very new to Pips.

He gasped in awe, hearing music much like Zak the human's, but it was so very different. Signs and symbols were illuminated, marking the paths that humans travelled. Street signs, as they were called, and humans obeyed them, well most did. Pips tried to figure out how it controlled them so. Pips head was spinning, marveling at the grand empire of humans. What truly astonished him was realizing that there was surely more. When Pips thought of how Crysta would react to these things, his pride swelled. With gifts from the human world, Pips would finally have the courage to ask Crysta to be his. A new era was to dawn for the pixies back home, and he was welling up with excitement.

Something else was affecting Pips though. This world, the world of the humans was very draining. With every step he took, Pips felt a burst of agony. His wings, the wings he was so proud of, were withered and pained. Walking down the rough surface of the human's home, Pips felt their weight, dead and lifeless, slowly dissolve. Over time he began to feel sick and dizzy, the world spinning around him. This was no good. In order for him to find Zak and bring human magic to Ferngully, Pips would need to be healthy.

"Stay healthy." Pips ordered. His entire body felt as if it were shifting and moving most unpleasantly. He found it hard to walk in a straight line as his vision blurred. Something was very wrong, very wrong indeed. Stumbling, Pips picked himself back up again, his stomach churning. Throbbing pain ached all over his body. To his horror, Pips felt his body expand, first his arms, then his torso, then everything that fell in between. Blackness swept over his eyes, losing his balance, he fell out in the path in front of a car. The car, a Mercedes with tinted windows, swerved, but was unable to avoid the human before them. The driver rushed from the vehicle, his employer in tow.

"Call 911." The employer ordered. Far away, in Pips home of Ferngully, Crysta was also barking orders.

"No one has heard or seen of Pips?" There was no answer from the congregation of pixies. Frustration washed over her, again, she asked the crowd, "There are so many of us, yet no one knows where Pips is?"

Again, no one answered her. Eventually, friends of Pips, the Beetle Boys stepped forward.

"We know where he is, but you won't be happy."

"Where's Pips?" demanded Crysta. When their explanation was through, Crysta was fuming. She would have gone out on her own were she not so important to Ferngully. Sending out the Beetleboys, she gave them a fortnight to retrieve her friend.


	4. Chapter 4

When Pips awoke, he was in a room of white. It was confusing, and waiting for him to awaken was the man he had seen before he had passed out. Head spinning, Pips drew on all the folklore he knew of humans to determine where he was. As far as he could tell, he was not about to be sacrificed, and he certainly was not being married, so where was he exactly?

"Ah, John Doe rises." said the man.

Beside the man who spoke was another man who seemed to take a subservient role to the speaker. The speaker had grey in his hair, Pips supposed he was a village elder and the other man was his council. Perhaps humans were not so different. Confused at the speaker's words, Pips drew on his knowledge of dealing with elders, and thought of what one was to say in his situation.

"My name is Pips of Ferngully." He said. "Are you the leader of the humans?"

The men gave Pips a queer look, and then looked to one another as if psychically conveying a message. Horrified, Pips wondered what he had done wrong and whether humans were capable of telepathy. Desperately Pips thought back to when Zak was amongst his people, and if Zak had heard all of the horrible things he had thought of him. Brushing it off for the time being, Pips returned his thoughts to the present, and the men before him.

"I'm Jorge Torres," introduced the speaker, "You might know the towers I am building around here. It is a part of the new revitalization project for Buenos Aires?"

When Pips gave Jorge only a blank stare, he seemed to grow steadily worried, but said nothing. Pips was both frustrated and distressed, he was a proud member of Ferngully, and he had never received so little of respect, but on the other hand he knew it was critical to win over humans to bring their magical devices back. Jorge looked upon him like a predatory bird eyeing a curious object, determining whether it was prey or even worthwhile. Gesturing back to the man Pips assumed to be his councilman, Jorge introduced him.

"This is Pedro Soto, my driver, he helped bring you here." He told Pips.

Looking at him curiously, Pips had no idea what being a driver meant. Assuming the man was still part of Jorge's council, perhaps a driver was someone who drove ideas? Regardless, Pips felt lost and small, despite his now fair size. These feelings drove deep within Pips, whose ego refused to feel anything but necessary and respected.

"I am not sure where I am exactly, but I need your help, it is for my people." he said. "Do you know a human by the name of Zak?"

Again, Pedro and Jorge gave Pips a strange look that drove Pips beyond the point of frustration. He was asking simple questions, and yet these men treated him like a lizard demanding a million mangos. It was not he who was foolish, but them, and Pips was slowly coming to the conclusion that all humans were slow creatures. It was evident that Zak was not so bright, but it was clear that neither were these men before him. With a sigh, Pips supposed that these men could do nothing for him. It would be a fool's errand to think that men such as these could give him man's tools of light, music, culture, and magic. Removing the blanket that covered him, Pips was surprised to find he was in the uncomfortably tight garb of humans. How difficult it would be to fight off the teasing of the Beetle Boys.

"I must go." He said to Jorge and Pedro. "Tell me how to find your leader."

"Pips you said your name was?" asked Jorge.

"Yes," confirmed Pips, growing suspicious, "What of it?"

"Don't worry Pips, I'm just here to help." said Jorge, lifting his arms in a show of pacifism. "What is your surname?"

"Surname, what is that? I come from Ferngully." said Pips.

"A surname, a family name, the one that comes after your first name, do you know it?" asked Jorge, who was speaking to Pips like a child now.

Behind Jorge Pedro had taken an aggressive stance. A tension had formed in the air. It was tangible less in the conversation between the two men than their posture. An animalistic instinct was overcoming the two humans, something Pips knew to be the evil that so easily conquered their hearts. For them, even if they did not know it, their true human side viewed Pips as an injured animal that was in the way, something to kill. It made Pips uneasy, and he knew it was time to leave.

"I don't." answered Pips.

"That can't be, you must have hurt your head harder than they thought." said Jorge, looking to him with pity.

"What are you talking about?" asked Pips, sounding almost offended.

"You were hurt Pips, and it was all Pedro's fault. He is very sorry, and because he works for me, I suppose I am at fault too. Let me help you, and I will see about returning you to your people and getting you what you need."

Pips regarded Pedro first, who looked anything but apologetic, but like the councilman he was assumed to be he remained respectful. Examining Jorge, Pips saw he truly was a man of power, though perhaps not a wise man. These were dangerous men, but considering his situation, Pips wondered how much of a choice he held in the world of humans. Not a lot, he supposed, even in his home of Ferngully, he doubted they would welcome so openly someone with no family, no identification, and who spoke of things so strange. Thinking back to Zak's arrival, Pips knew the man had been lucky that Crysta had been so welcoming. Hoping that Jorge could be his Crysta, Pips opened up to the man.

"How might you help me?" he asked.

"I will take you in, and I have a lot of money, I will hire someone to get you healthy and home." answered Jorge, suave and confident.

Picturing this man as Crysta, Pips felt much more at ease. He remembered why he was here, and why he could not give up so easily. There were people counting on him back home, and he could not let them down. Pips had transformed into a human, and Jorge was the first man he had run into. Knowing this was more than coincidence; Pips guessed it had to be what mankind called "destiny" that brought him here. He was here because of fate, and Jorge and Pedro surely still had some role to play in the salvation of Ferngully. This man seemed to want him, for whatever reason, and was willing to let him into his home. Though Pips carried many doubts, he knew that at the moment, Jorge Torres was his best bet.

"If I come home with you, would I be imposing?" he asked Jorge.

Jorge laughed whole heartedly.

"You're a funny man Pips! I can't tell if you're crazy, bold, or something perfectly in between. You'd make a wonderful businessman, but we would have to do something about your last name." he managed to say through his guttural laughs.

"My surname?" asked Pips, who was still not quite sure what a surname was.

"How does Gutierrez sound for the time being Pips? Until we get things sorted out for you that is."

Pips considered the offer, and deciding it was best to conform to his only comrade's wishes, relented.

"Of course." He said.

Closing off the distance between them, Jorge slapped Pips on the back in a show of friendship. All smiles and warm looks, Pips could not bring himself to unleash his anger at being knocked forward in this aggressive show of friendship. Instead, he smiled back at his new friend of sorts. Jorge turned to Pedro, who was patiently watching his boss and his bizarre new find.

"Bring the car around Pedro, we must leave immediately." ordered Jorge.

"Yes sir." Said Pedro, knowing his boss was blatantly ignoring the doctor's orders of letting the man named Pips rest.

Leaving the room, Pedro knew Jorge well enough to know the gears in Jorge's head were spinning. Jorge saw more than just a pitiable man in Pips, he saw potential. Though Pedro was blind to such potential, he also knew Jorge enough to not ask questions and follow his boss until he saw this plan through. Whatever the case, Pedro could not escape feelings of pity for the strange person named Pips.

"Come with me, my wife would love to meet you." Pedro overheard from the room.

Reaching the car, Pedro could not escape the ominous and evil feeling growing within him.


End file.
